Rochelle hopes for more buzz for hub

Thomas V. Bona

Wednesday

Aug 29, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 29, 2007 at 7:32 PM

CGB Enterprises hauls 40 to 100 containers of grain a day to the nearby Union Pacific Global III intermodal facility, according to railroad officials. Because of a state-of-the-art driver-registration system, the company’s trucks get in and out so fast they can often make 12 to 20 trips a day. It’s that kind of service that Union Pacific is promoting to generate continued growth at the facility, which transfers containers of goods between trains and trucks.

By the numbers

720,000 to 1 million: Containers Global III can handle in a year.

Over 200,000: Containers it’s expected to handle this year.

25 percent: Growth from 2006 to 2007.

1,200: Acres in the facility.

29: Miles of track, including four loading/unloading tracks and many more storage tracks.

8,000 to 9,000: Length, in feet, of the typical train served by the facility.

CGB Enterprises hauls 40 to 100 containers of grain a day to the nearby Union Pacific Global III intermodal facility, according to railroad officials.

Because of a state-of-the-art driver-registration system, the company’s trucks get in and out so fast they can often make 12 to 20 trips a day.

It’s that kind of service that Union Pacific is promoting to generate continued growth at the facility, which transfers containers of goods between trains and trucks.

Since opening in 2003, Global III has operated below expectations. It’s now at about 35 percent of capacity, and can handle at least 720,000 containers a year.

But between an increase in agricultural products being shipped by containers and distribution centers popping up around the region, the facility has seen 25 percent growth this year.

"The intended purpose of the facility is being met," Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes said Tuesday during a rare media tour of the facility. Officials said commercial development in the region didn’t grow as fast as expected. But building permits are increasing around here while permits in Chicagoland are decreasing.

"Our performance for our customers is really what’s going to drive business," he said afterward. "We had our grand opening of the facility, we knew there was demand for the service that was provided by the facility, and this was a good time for an update."

It could be part of a more concerted effort by Union Pacific to get the word out about Global III, said Jason Anderson, Rochelle’s economic development director.

"They planned this, they built it, but they didn’t immediately go out and market it," he said. "The (Burlington Northern Santa Fe), everybody tells me, is far more aggressive in marketing their intermodal program. They are proving that because they are going crazy at the Elwood facility."

While BNSF’s facility handles about a million containers a year, the Union Pacific one in Rochelle handles just over 200,000.

The signs are there for the number to quickly increase, Anderson said. A record corn crop and increased production at Illinois River Energy’s nearby ethanol plant will fill many containers that would normally be sent out empty. Right now, 70 percent of outbound shipments are agricultural, said Bob Sullivan, senior manager of intermodal operations for the Rochelle facility.

Meanwhile, inbound traffic — the crux of the facility’s operation — should grow as more distribution centers locate along the nearby interstates.

Since 2003, 2 million square feet of those facilities have been built in the region, Anderson said. While not all came here exclusively because of Global III, major players like Lowe’s have said it was a big reason.

Sullivan said that nationally, intermodal service has grown by double-digit percentages over the past few years. It now makes up 19 percent of the company’s systemwide revenue.

Anderson said that as traffic continues to snarl Chicagoland’s roads and rails, companies will move their distribution networks away from there. It hasn’t happened overnight, he said, because shipping companies have long-term contracts with railroads.

"I think the Union Pacific had a crystal ball ... and saw that was coming and saw this was going to be strategically the best decision they made."

Staff writer Thomas V. Bona may be contacted at 815-987-1343 or tbona@rrstar.com.

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